Only abuse victims can look back?
December 11, 2005 by Conservative Culture
Filed under General, Ohio
Been messing around with children? Been in power and a leader in a church? Don’t worry. Have the church cover for you and then go to legal battle to stop the law from ‘looking back‘ after the clock has expired.
That is just what is going on in Ohio. There have been ongoing hearings and testimony in Columbus. The Catholic church has been fighting as unconstitutional a law that would give a year period where victims who are now over the age of 20 an opportunity to disclose the abuse.
The church does not object to that provision, nor is it fighting a provision adding priests, rabbis, ministers, and other nonvolunteer church officials to the list of professionals mandated under law to report suspected child abuse.
But the church contends that retroactively reviving cases for which the statute of limitations has long expired would be unconstitutional.
Why might one be in favor of the bill expanding it to age 38 for future cases but not retroactively? Is it for the sake of constitutional issues or that they know of the number of abuses that will be exposed and have been knowingly covered up? In California a large settlement over lawsuites which were pending.
The decision represents the first group settlement of nearly 850 clergy molestation lawsuits pending against the 10 dioceses and two archdiocese in California.
In 2003 the big news was Bishop O’Brien’s admission to a cover-up of known abusers in the priesthood.
On June 2, 2003, the Arizona Republic reported the accord in a front-page story beneath the banner headline, “Bishop O’Brien admits cover-up in sexual abuse cases.” O’Brien, the paper reported, had admitted knowingly permitting priests accused of sexual misconduct to continue working with children. O’Brien also acknowledged transferring these predators throughout the diocese.
Though O’Brien later denied such statements it doesn’t take long to find that these problems go back at least 2 decades according to CBSnews timeline.
While the fight goes on in Ohio, the abusers are certainly worried that they will not only be exposed but also now face jail time. In the meantime you would believe from the actions of the Catholic church that the victims are the priests who violated the children and not the children themselves.
Chucko on Wed, 4th Oct 2006 9:56 am
Regarding the “massive abuse scandal and coverup by the eeeeeeevil Catholic church that hates small children and only uses them for molestation purposes,” here is a link.
http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/2002/0211fea2.asp
Undoubtedly this will be explained away as excuse mongering and I’ll be considered a pedophile coddler, but for those interested in getting a non MSM point of view, I’d recommend it as a read.
Conservative Culture on Wed, 4th Oct 2006 4:03 pm
Anyone who is familiar with the hearings which went on in Columbus OH in this matter would not be so generous with the ugliness of the leadership ’s inept concern and handling of this matter.
I don’t see how this is anti-Catholic. We have pointed out such stupidity from other churches. Besides… no tolerance of this type of premeditated coverup should be excused. A web page doesn’t say much to those who have been harmed. Consider the true motive.